Earl Wild Plays Liszt: The 1985 Sessions

We commend this set to you if you have ever wondered why 19th-century audiences were so enraptured by Liszt. Highlights include "Un Sospiro," the "Mephisto Polka," Liszt's transcription of Bach's Fantasia and Fugue in G Minor, and the Sonata in B Minor.

"These selections cover a broad spectrum of Liszt's diverse piano output and make an ideal introduction to his music. More importantly, Wild never fails to channel his virtuosity toward musical ends. He declaims rather than rushes through the Dante Sonata's myriad octave passages, and similarly takes time to orchestrate the B minor Ballade's groaning chromatic runs in the bass. The pianist also resists the temptation to turn Funérailles' central section into a mere octave etude, taking trouble to shape the rising right-hand chords. Wild spent his formative years working with opera singers, and it really shows in lyrical selections like the three Petrarca Sonetti, the Third Consolation, the Chopin/Liszt song My Joys, plus the Second and Third Liebestraume. This deserves a worthy place in any good piano library."—Classics Today